Thoughts in Space
by Fate9
Summary: MalRiver, Spoilers if you havn't seen the movie. Their thoughts as they drift in space. Will involve all characters but will Revolve around the possibility that a relationship has started between Mal and River.
1. His Thoughts

Author Notes: This story will most likely be only three chapters long. Starting with _His Thoughts_ followed by _Her Thoughts_ and then to be concluded in _Their Thoughts_. I considered expanding it to a full fledge story, but I don't have a complete thought in mind so I will most likely start a new story instead of expanding this. Please R&R as this is my first fanfic in almost 3 years I would love feedback. Thanks.

Disclaimer: None of the characters that appear in the story belong to me. Any similarities between any real person, place, or event are purely coincidental.

**Thoughts in Space**

_His thoughts_

Mal lay in bed staring up at the ceiling of his bunk, dressed in his usual attire minus his boots; he just sat back and stared. The last few weeks had been busy for the crew. They had several back to back jobs with little time to recoup from the previous. Mal liked it that way, it let him focus on things he knew and didn't leave him a lot of time to dwell on the things he didn't. Things were looking better for the crew as a whole, Zoë no longer walked around with her eyes haunted by the memory of Wash, she still wasn't quite herself, maybe she never would be, but her interactions with the rest of the crew began to take a more normal feel for everyone. The physical wounds from the battle with the reavers had healed and their daily routines were set once again. Everyone, of course, missed Wash and Book, but accepted that you can't undo what has already been done and had to remember to be thankful for those that were still here with them.

As Mal sat up his bare feet touching the metal of the floor, knowing he should sleep, but accepting he would most likely be up for awhile longer his thoughts drifted to another member of the crew; one that would still be awake and not very far from where he was sitting right now. He couldn't exactly remember when it began; he would catch himself thinking about her at the oddest times or catch her scent as she entered a room. Of course nobody knew of his thoughts, her least of all, but it made him uncomfortable to think of her that way.

Sighing, he opened the door to his room and climbed up the ladder to stand in the hallway of Serenity. He turned first left then right, toward the control room and lightly stepped toward the room. As he approached he couldn't see her, of course she was most likely sitting in the co-pilot seat and he couldn't see it yet, but he was hopeful she wouldn't be there, and then he could continue his night of thoughts that didn't involve her.

But Mal was not a man of much luck and as he finally stood in the doorframe he could see her; staring out into the black, her knees pulled up to her chest and a deep purple dress hung from her shoulders. He wanted to curse his luck, or lack thereof, but as he went to he found himself softly smiling at the back of her hair.

He stood in the doorway examining her as one might examine some priceless object they could never afford in a lifetime. She was young, much younger then he, she was darkly beautiful and everything she did seemed to be with grace, even now when she did nothing but rest her chin on her knee it seemed the most natural thing in the verse. She had been better since the events of Miranda and even better so after the rest of the crew convinced her that the death of Wash and Book weren't her fault. Except for Zoë she seemed to take the deaths of their two friends worse then the rest of the crew, at the least she was the one most open about her feelings, as she blamed herself and thought the crew blamed her for what transpired.

However, that was now months behind them and things were much more normal now, or at least as normal as things could be on the ship. Mal wanted to sigh aloud, what was it about her that made his mind drift to her whenever it had a free moment to think for itself? Was it some paternal instinct and need to protect everyone on his crew? Was his mind just trying to focus on someone that was still here so it wouldn't drift to Wash or Book? Did he fancy her? No, that wasn't it for sure. He forbade crew members to become involved with one another as he didn't want any rifts between them on their small home in space. Of course there was the fact Wash and Zoë had married and the fact that it was likely something had blossomed between Kaylee and Simon. Did anybody ever listen to him he thought. I mean he was the captain and the captain knows best.

Finally as he took his first step onto the bridge, his eyes never really leaving the seat she sat in, his final thoughts were that maybe, just maybe, Malcolm Reynolds wasn't right about everything that involved his crew.


	2. Her Thoughts

**Thoughts in Space**

_Her thoughts_

She was broken. Or she had been broken. Those thoughts drifted across her mind as she stared out to the stars. She was healing now though, or at least everyone seemed to think so. She rarely had a bad moment, as Simon said her last one being over a month ago and was mild compared to the earlier ones. She didn't need the drugs Simon had been giving her anymore. It was a nice feeling; the feeling of healing, the feeling of trying to be whole again. Of course, with healing and becoming whole, newer emotions began to come up, ones she hadn't remembered having to deal with before and it left her feeling odd. The feelings weren't odd so much themselves, she felt odd about them because she wasn't sure where they came from or what they meant.

She was a young woman, but sometimes in the eyes of the rest of the crew she felt as though they seen her as something else: a child, a warrior, a broken doll, a crazy girl, and her favorite an albatross. She could, of course, read their thoughts, but he had asked her not to. He had said that a person's thoughts were private and nobody had the right to look into or play with them, it was one of the reasons he was so furious with what the Alliance had done to her. She had promised him she wouldn't and so she wouldn't. She might ignore him on small things, didn't listen to him all the time, but she wouldn't break his trust she thought it might break her heart to do so.

That was another odd thought. Why should he be able to say that people shouldn't have the right to control other people's thought when he so easily invaded hers? It just wasn't fair she thought aloud. As she once again turned her attention to the black she heard his door open and step out. He sounded different then normal as he walked toward the bridge. She knew it was him though, while she wouldn't read the thoughts of the crew she couldn't help, but feel part of their emotions when they neared her.

He stopped; she knew he was staring at her from the doorway, could feel his eyes on her. He might even think that he was being quiet and she didn't notice him there, but she did, however, she didn't turn to face him, instead she stared out into space her chin resting on the top of her knee. As she looked out into the black she didn't see anything. No stars were in her eyes all she could see was him staring at her; it was enough to make a girl want to scream. Staring at her like she was a mannequin in some store's display window.

But even with all that there was another emotion that floated through her thoughts. That as he was near her she felt, safer then anywhere else in the verse. Now that was an odd thought. He was bigger then her, but she could beat him in a fight. She was most likely a better shot, although she hated guns. She could hide better from a fight if she had to or run away faster if she had to do that. But when he was near her, she felt safe near him. One day she resolved she would find out what it was about him that made her feel this way.

Then as he took his first step toward her she didn't need to read his thoughts to know what would happen next….


	3. Their Thoughts

**Thoughts in Space**

_Their Thoughts_

Mal's bare feet felt oddly chilled as he took his first steps onto the bridge, making his way to where River sat, staring off into the black. He started to reach his hand out to touch her softly on the shoulder to let her know he was there, but as he did he suddenly had the feeling that his hand couldn't be trusted and let it fall to his side instead opting to simply say something to announce his presence.

"How are you doin little albatross? Are you keeping the stars company?" He asked as he stood next to her, letting his eyes look down toward hers as she looked up at him, her luminous eyes felt as though they could see through to his soul.

If she was Serenity's albatross and Serenity was his ship, did that mean that she was his? The thought quickly came and went as she looked up toward him. "Lonely." She said first then added, "Tired and Waiting." She replied to his question, adding again quickly, "The stars…." Her words trailed off as she turned her eyes back to the stars, hoping he wouldn't notice the slight blush in her cheeks at her slight slip of the tongue.

"Yes, the stars…." He said thoughtfully in response. His eyes were still locked against her face and he forced himself to look away, look out into the backdrop of space; standing and staring for several moments he finally turned toward the pilot's chair.

Crossing the bridge he sat down and faced the black, letting his quiet thoughts wash over him, thoughts of River and him and lips. He really didn't look forward to the special hell he was going to, he would really miss seeing Wash and Book. A silence fell between the two of them, neither really trusting their selves to speak, unsure of the other's thoughts and inner turmoil.

She just wanted a glimpse into his thoughts, just for an instant, just to see if she made him feel as confused and unsure of himself as he did to her. She knew she wouldn't but it didn't make it any less tempting. She closed her eyes to try to calm herself, to steady her thoughts and not allow her senses to be overwhelmed by him.

As Mal looked over at her as the silence continued and seen her eyes closed and breathing becoming steadier he thought she had fallen asleep. "Guess its past her bedtime." He joked aloud to himself and stood up, walking out of the bridge toward his room.

As he stood to leave, River still awake, wanted to stop him, tell him she wasn't asleep. But she couldn't force herself to do it. She didn't want him to leave, not yet, but as he stepped out toward his bunk she did nothing. She couldn't trust her words not to betray the emotions that were running in her heart so she stayed quiet. She felt a vague sense of loss that she could do nothing about when he left the room.

Mal climbed down into his bunk and pulled the blanket off of his bed and climbed back up, making his way toward River. As he entered the room, her eyes were still closed and her brow heavy with sleep. He let the blanket drape over top of her, tucking it behind her shoulders with a smile. On an impulse he leaned down and softly pressed his lips to her forehead, "Sleep well, baobei." He whispered softly before moving back to sit in his chair.

As she heard his footsteps returning from his bunk she quickly closed her eyes again, so he wouldn't think she was faking sleep. She could feel him next to her, so close, as he wrapped the blanket around her. Then as he leaned down and she felt his lips touch her forehead, warmth spread through her body from head to toe tip and moments later she would fall asleep with dreams of her and Mal and lips.

Mal's eyes opened and he yawned loudly, noting that a blanket was pulled up against his chest and over his shoulders. He turned his head to his left as he stretched and noted that the co-pilot chair was once again vacant. Looking at the blanket he realized it was the same one he had used earlier to cover River while she slept. As he stood, he leaned down to pickup the blanket as it fell into the chair and he could still smell her scent against it, a scent that brought on a wave of thoughts that Mal quickly squashed down, instead he let his mind wander to the job they had today.

He walked back toward his bunk, climbed down, laid the blanket on his bed as he sat on the edge to put on his boots. He climbed back up the ladder and entered the hallway of Serenity once again, closing the door behind him he turned left and headed toward the kitchen knowing he would find those of his crew that were awake there.

As he entered he noticed that River wasn't around but could swear that she was near by, her scent once again filling his mind. Shaking his head to clear it he said to everyone there, "Mornin'." A preoccupied grunt of greeting was returned to him from Jayne, who was mouth and beard deep into his breakfast, and a small wave from Kaylee who was studying something on the table while she ate. As he went to sit down at the head of the table, Zoë entered, he looked up at her and gave her a small smile and she responded by giving him a look like she didn't quite know who he was.

Sitting down, he wondered what Zoë's problem was, as he pulled himself out a plate and began to fill it. Just as he was about to eat Kaylee looked up from examining whatever it was she was looking at, he still couldn't actually see what it was, and she looked up at him and gave him a happy smile which quickly turned to one of surprise, not far from the look Zoë gave him just moments earlier.

"What?" He said more then a little annoyed by the strange looks he was getting this morning.

"Oh, nothin. Everything just shiny, Capt'n." Was her response, but her face quickly gave away her lie as it turned into one of grins and poorly suppressed laughter.

Finally, Jayne looking up after finishing his food, burping loudly at which Kaylee slapped him on the arm and said something about manners, gave Mal a questioning look as he tilted his head and squinted his eyes a little. "You know Mal, you know me, and I'm all for lettin' folk choose to do whatever they want or be whatever it is they wanna be…" This got eye rolls from Zoë and Kaylee, "…but really I don't think purple lipstick is you." At which time the poorly suppressed laughter from Kaylee broke through like a floodgate and even Zoë could be seen with a half laugh, half smile on her lips.

Mal's hand shot up to his lips, his index and middle finger pressing to his lips in wonder. River, leaning against the outside of the wall, just next to the door of the kitchen sat with a smile on her violet lips and her eyes alight with love.


	4. More Thoughts Zoe

Author Notes: _Ooookay, I sat down to write a single chapter about how everybody on the ship would feel. Instead I get a 1700+ word chapter on Zoë's thoughts alone. So instead of having one really long drawn on chapter I'm going to break this "chapter" into smaller parts by simply focusing on one person per 'part'. It really shouldn't change much except I'll most likely be updating as I finish with each person's thoughts, instead of how I originally intended of updating only after the chapter was finished.. This might be better as it shows I am making an effort to find time to write, although it also means you have to wait just an itty-bitty-teeny-bit longer before, I get back to focusing on Mal and River. I hope I can be forgiven and that these chapters can keep you entertained until the conclusion._

**Thoughts in Space**

_More Thoughts - Zoë_

Zoë slowly began to stir, her eyes opening from the nightmares that haunted her dreams into the reality that those nightmares had become. She stayed unmoving except for her eyes while she stared at the ceiling of her bunk. She was still sleeping on her side of the bed; the other half was nearly undisturbed. She sighed quietly as she sat upright; swinging her legs over the side of the bed letting her feet touch the floor. In reality she wanted to scream and go back to bed, but there were things to be done today, and since the Captain was going to do them, he needed someone to watch his back when things didn't go his way and they wouldn't of course.

She missed Wash deeply, whenever she wasn't preoccupied with not getting herself shot she was thinking of him or about him in some way; whenever someone made a joke or comment she would sit and think on what Wash might say back. While it was true she was getting back into a more normal state of things, her heart still ached. She had been real bad after it had first happened, she would keep a strong face when facing the rest of the crew or Mal, but when she was alone her façade would shatter and she would break down in sobs. What would they think if they knew she spent every night for the first three weeks after his death crying till she couldn't catch her breath; to afraid to go to the doctor to get something to put her in a deep sleep because she didn't want to show weakness to anyone.

She finally stood up, pulling out her cloths for the day and changing, pulling her hair back from her face and lacing up her boots. She looked at herself in the mirror, she seemed calm, her eyes more her old self, but only she knew everything wasn't quite right. She had accepted his death and her life. She knew to give up her own life would pain him too deeply for her to do so, but she only wished she would be with him again. "Nothing is ever easy." She half whispered in the mirror as she exited her bunk, making her way to the dining table.

As she neared it, she could see the table she heard Mal's greeting of "Mornin'" and seen his shape pass the doorway, walking toward his normal seat at the front of the table. She entered the room and noticed the usual suspects, Kaylee with what looked like a magazine of some sort in her lap and Jayne eating as though if he stopped to breathe his food might make a break for it. She looked to Mal, intending on giving him a nod of greeting, silence was usually their way of communicating, but when she looked up he had purple lipstick on his lips and her greeting became something altogether different. She must have made an odd face as he gave her a look of annoyance. She nodded for him to go into the hallway she had just entered from so he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of the rest of the crew, but he ignored her head tilt and sat down. Fine, she thought, if he wanted to be stubborn about it let the man deal with it, although she was greatly amused and puzzled on how exactly he got it on himself.

As she walked over, intending to get a cup of coffee she heard Kaylee's giggle, or half giggles as she tried to hold it in, from behind her, she must have looked up she thought. She poured her coffee and turned around, Kaylee looked ready to burst her face straining red and a big grin lit her face. For his part, Mal looked even more annoyed. Men, so clueless sometimes, she thought to herself. Finally, Jayne pushed his plate away and after burping loudly, I guess he does breathe when he eats she thought, began to tell Mal how open minded he was. She simply rolled her eyes at that thought. "…but really I don't think purple lipstick is you." Jayne finally managed to get out and Kaylee exploded with laughter, even she had to manage to grin at that. Mal stood and put his fingers to his lips looking first confused then something different. She expected him to look mad or embarrassed, but as he turned and walked away, she could only assume to wash it off, he looked amused and his eyes seemed lighter then she remembered them.

With that done, she drained her coffee and ignored the food on the table instead opting to get the mule ready for the job she exited the dining room, intending on heading to the cargo bay when she very nearly ran right into River. "Hey, little one," She said to the younger woman, "You just missed something funny if you had just gotten there a few minutes earlier." She smiled at River, who smiled back at her, and then she noticed it and her mind reeled in wonder. The girl had on lipstick that would have matched perfectly with what was on Mal's lips. "Or maybe you didn't miss anything…" Her words trailed off at River, a little shocked. River looked at her calmly; happiness radiating off the younger woman in a near physical aura, before she turned and walked down the hallway, opposite of where Zoë would be heading.

Zoë watched the younger woman's back as she retreated from her and she was still in a tad state of shock. Granted they had been spending a lot of time together in the bridge, but had the captain and River developed something deeper? Kaylee ran by, nearly colliding with her; she turned her head over her shoulder and shouted an apology at Zoë but never stopped running straight down toward the cargo bay, leaving Zoë alone with her thoughts on River and the captain.

Zoë was lost in thought. Mal was a big believer in rules, despite the fact most people on the ship broke one or two of them on a daily basis, but he was usually very careful not to break his own rules, as a way of trying to set a standard. And he had a rule that crew members were not to be involved in any relationship with one another for fear it could break up their happy family or cause rifts if they were to end their relationship. With that her thoughts drifted to years earlier, a happier time for her and for Mal as Serenity was finally shaping up to be the ship he wanted.

She stood on the bridge, maybe stood wasn't the right word. She had Wash pushed up against the locker behind the pilot chair her lips pressed fiercely against his and his hands grabbing at her hips. It wasn't the first time they had been in this situation, keeping their budding relationship hidden away from the others when there came a clearing of a throat and she turned to see Mal in the doorway staring at them. Wash tried quickly to cover it, "Yes now I see how you correctly perform CPR on someone." His voice rang out. Mal made no attempt at acknowledging his remark one way or another and instead stared at her. "Wash, can you give us a minute please?" She had said, taking a step back away from him. He muttered something about what he was suppose to do, go play with dinosaurs or something, as he ran his hand through his hair and walked past Mal and off the bridge.

For a long moment the two stared at one another in silence, neither really quite ready to have the conversation they both knew was coming. Finally, Mal said simply, "You know I don't much like crew members gettin' involved with each other." "Besides," he added, "I thought you didn't even like him."

She didn't respond right away, quietly choosing her words to convey to him exactly what Wash had started to mean to her.

"We've been together for a long time you and I, haven't we?" she said.

"We have." He responded.

"And I've followed you a long way through thick and thin. And you've taken a bullet or two that were meant for me."

"And you did the same for me on more then one occasion."

"And I hope I've always lived up to your expectations when you gave an order."

"Never disappointed me once." He said in all seriousness.

"But with all that, all that we've been through, the one order I can't take from you is to not feel anything for him."

He stared at her, his eyes never changed, no shock, no surprise, or anger; he just stared not allowing his emotions to break through to her. "Just as long as you know how I feel." He said and turned off the bridge, walking back through Serenity's hallway.

A month later Wash and she were wed. And Malcolm Reynolds' was there, standing tallest and smiling almost as much as Wash was. He walked her down the aisle and gave her way. He also gave the most drunken speeches, danced much better then Zoë would have thought possible, considering the amount he had drunk, and was in general good spirits. He never directly mentioned his conversation with Zoë, his one remark came when she and Wash said they were going to find a quiet place for the rest of the week just the two of them, "Oh, is it his turn to teach you the Heimlich Maneuver?" He said with a big grin, Men she thought; even the best of them didn't know when to keep quiet about things.

As she flashed back to reality, finally making her way into the cargo bay she wondered what repercussions were going to surface if things were heading how she thought they were. Despite it though, she smiled happily for the captain, it was time for the man to find some happiness of his own, instead of always trying to find some for the rest of his crew and never for himself. Finally as she started to prep the mule for the day's work her last thoughts were that no matter the consequences, Mal would have her there to support him, and whoever tried to spoil his happiness would have to deal with her first.


	5. More Thoughts Kaylee

Author Notes: _Sorry this chapter took a bit longer then I thought it would and I fear it didn't come out quite as smoothly as I had hoped, but despite rereading it a few times through I can't quite improve on it short of rewriting it, which I'm not quite sure I want to do. I think the next 'part' of this fic should be out fairly quickly, but the last two might take me a little longer as Easter weekend means family stuff to do. But promise, I will get it posted soon as I can find the time to write. Enjoy!_

**Thoughts in Space**

_More Thoughts – Kaylee_

Her mind was filled with dreams as she lay in bed. In her dreams she could feel his hands intertwined with hers, his lips locked against hers and the heat radiating from his body. With a sudden jerk her eyes opened and she realized it was only a dream. She sighed, in disappointment. Why couldn't he just make her dreams a reality? She knew he felt the same way, when they were alone he was so open with her, but once anybody got near he reverted back to his prim and proper self. Oh well, she thought to herself, she would be happy with just having him near, he would get over his shyness eventually, she would make sure of that.

Slipping out of her night cloths she dressed for the day, running a brush quickly through her hair. As she turned to leave, she spotted a magazine about gardening and how to grow various small fruits and vegetables in a space ship. She had picked it up on Persephone, before their last job went terribly wrong and they were fleeing before anyone else could get shot. Good a time as any to read it, she thought as she picked it up and made her way to the kitchen. She considered stopping by and waking up Simon, but last time she had he woke up half dressed and she was sure steam was going to come out of his ears, they were so red.

As she made her way into the kitchen she realized it was still empty, "Guess I'm the first awake." She said aloud to nobody. Being the first to the kitchen meant it was up to you to get things started for everyone else. She walked over to start coffee; she knew Zoë and the Captain would want some. She got out a few plates, setting them in the center of the table, as well as eating utensils and several cups. As she decided what to eat, protein or protein, she sighed and wished for just a few strawberries.

Just as she started to get the food together, Jayne walked in and said sleepily "Mornin' Kaylee." And he went to his usual seat and sat down, leaning back in his chair as he yawned loudly. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a cheery smile then turned back finishing up the serving plates. Jayne had the odd habit of making it to the kitchen within a few minutes of whoever was first there. She could almost guess he was waiting for others to get the morning chores done so he himself didn't have to. One day she was going to have to trick him into thinking she was up then catch him in the kitchen so he would have to get everything ready for everyone else, just to show him it wasn't that big a deal.

She put the plates of food on the table and went to get herself a drink while Jayne started to pile food onto his plate, which soon looked as though it was the serving plate. Kaylee, having poured herself some water, sat down and slowly started to eat while she looked at the magazine in her lap. The room was filled with the sound of Jayne eating and Kaylee reading, until Mal entered.

"Mornin'." He said. To Kaylee's right Jayne grunted at the captain and Kaylee just raised her hand in a silent wave while she studied her magazine intently. She heard the sounds of the captain moving about the room, pouring himself a drink and felt his presence as he walked behind her toward his chair. As Mal had finished filling his plate, Kaylee looked up at him and smiled, then noticing his off colored lips she gave him a kind of confused smile. Why did the captain have purple lips? She thought to herself. Then a bell went off in her head and her confused look turned into one of utter delight, and she could barely suppress her grin.

Mal looked at her and made an annoyed face as hers broke into grins. "What?" He said, more loudly then he normally would of. "Oh nothing. Everything just shiny, Capt'n." She replied, it was taking all of her will power not to burst out in laughter looking at his violet colored lips that he was obviously unaware of. She kept staring at him and was trying without much success not to giggle or laugh, but it was too much for her. Finally, she heard Jayne's fork hit the table as he laid it down and burped loudly. She swatted at his arm, "Manners!" she said in a hushed whisper at the mercenary. She started to turn back toward the captain as Jayne started talking.

"You know Mal, you know me, and I'm all for lettin' folk choose to do whatever they want or be whatever it is they wanna be…" Kaylee rolled her eyes, isn't he just a saint, she thought to herself with a laugh. "…but really I don't think purple lipstick is you." As he spoke the last line, Kaylee couldn't keep it under control and tears of laughter misted over her eyes as she laughed harder then she had in months. She laughed and laughed, finally as her breath came back to her she realized that Mal most of ran out of the room, she got up and pushed her chair back, and started running toward the shuttle.

As she passed the door she bumped into Zoë, where did she come from Kaylee thought to herself, "Sorry!" she shouted over her shoulder and kept running. As she entered the top of the cargo bay, she turned right toward Inara's shuttle. She knocked excitedly and waited, wanting to burst into the room and talk with her, but respected the companion's need of privacy. Finally she heard the musical voice of Inara, "Ching jin." Kaylee burst through the door and almost ran right into Inara, practically bouncing around the other woman.

"Well, something good most of happened that has got you excited, mei mei." Inara said to Kaylee as the younger woman's face was obviously filled with delight. "Did something finally happen between you and Simon?" She asked.

"No! Stop teasin' me, tell me how it finally happin'd." Kaylee said, her breathing coming a little rapidly after her sprint through Serenity. "How what happened?" Inara's reply came, sounding confused about what she was talking about. "How you finally got Mal to kiss you! Or did you kiss him?" She said with a sly grin. "Ya shoulda seen him, lipstick smeared against his lips, and he looked happier then I 'member him in awhile!" She added, the words coming out rapidly in her excitement.

"But, Kaylee, I haven't seen Mal all day. I didn't kiss him…" Her words trailed off, barely audible. "But but, he had, and I thought that…If you didn't who woulda…I mean…" She looked at Inara, seeing a crack in the mask the companion wore so well, "I was um, just kiddin', uhm it was just a 'lil joke." She said, stepping back, toward the exit of the shuttle. She turned and fled the shuttle, running back toward the engine room, leaving Inara in the middle of her shuttle looking a little lost.

As she entered the engine room and leaned against the wall, her mind was racing. She was so sure it had to be Inara, the lipstick on his lips seemed a little smeared, not put on perfectly by someone's hand so she was sure it had finally happened. She was lost in thought wondering who it could be; the ship wasn't a big place. If it wasn't Inara, it wasn't her, was it Zoë she thought? That didn't seem right at all, obviously Zoë and the captain had spent a lot of time together in the past but nothing in their relationship spoke of anything beyond good friendship, forged in the darkest of days. Then who could it of been, she thought. Then she mouthed to herself, "oooh!" her mind finally coming to a conclusion.

River….the thought drifted through her mind and she was left feeling unsure. It was the most logical choice considering what she knew, but could the younger woman really of kissed the captain? It seemed too bizarre to her, she never remembered either showing any interest in each other. But then her thoughts flashed back to a couple weeks previous, it was dinner time and everyone was sitting down ready to have their nightly talks and stories while enjoying one another's company.

She remembered Mal's hand reaching out to grab something on the table then he snatched it back like he had burned it on something. She only really noticed because he had pushed his chair back some and dropped his fork to the floor which bounced and landed near her foot. She had looked down and seen that River's hand was on the dish that the captain had reached for. The rest of the night she could almost swear his eyes kept darting toward River, but she passed it off as her own imagination since every time she looked up, he was looking everywhere but at the younger woman.

She let her mind return to the present, the hum of Serenity's engine filled the room. She was really unsure of how she should feel. She, much like the rest of the crew, figured Inara and Mal would get together eventually if one or the other could let down their guard for just a few. But then she also felt that if River made the captain happy she would support them, just as he had supported her and Simon, or at least he never said any different, although he did try to throw them off the ship a few time, but that was awhile ago. Simon, his name floated through her thoughts and made her heart smile, he wouldn't like the thought of River and the captain though. She smiled to herself; she would do her best to keep Simon's attention squarely on herself, and not on what may or may not be forming between his sister and the captain.


	6. Author Notes

**Thoughts in Space**

_Author Notes_

I'm uploading these notes just to give myself a place to put anything if I decide the status on this fic changes and I decide to add more to it. I can also use this spot to post replies to any reviews I get.

I wanted to say that the third chapter didn't turn out anything like I imagined it while I was writing the first two chapters. I actually felt I kind of went off in a totally different direction then I originally wanted to so I hope it ended up coming out alright. I wanted to originally have them sitting quietly and let everyone get to see their thoughts as they sat together but when I was writing it I wanted more interaction between them and then I felt the ending gave the story a little something to smile at and really that's all I was going for with this entire fic. Mostly to get myself back into the writing mood and something that was a quick and easy read. Anyways if you've made it this far I thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

**Update**: I've decided to change the status of the fic to _In Progress_ and add something else to it. I'll most likely do this in an additional two chapters. I'm not sure how long till I'll be ready to post them I have a busy week at work and finals soon but I'll make an effort to get at least the first new chapter up before weeks end.

Tentatively titled _More Thoughts_ it will be different then the first three chapters because I'm going to explore what a River/Mal pairing might mean for the rest of the crew. So don't expect a lot of River/Mal in that chapter beyond mentioning of it. I'm doing this partly because I think I'd be interesting and partly so that I can get a little experience writing from the other characters points of view, in case I decide to write a long fic.

Now before there are any groans or moans….the fourth chapter will be called _After Thoughts_ and will focus on River and Mal again, and the way things will progress for them. I also intend to let it slip exactly what happened with Mal and the mystery of the purple lipstick.

Now, Yes, that means I'm not going to straight out give a definite answer one way or another until I've fully decided, partly to be evil and partly because as I said before when I started writing chapter three it was nothing like I envisioned it so I don't want to make any promises about what will happen so that I don't disappoint.

Lastly, I will say that when I wrote chapter three of the fic I really didn't have any question on how he got it on him. It wasn't until I had a friend read it before posting that she said to me, "So did they kiss or did she just put it on him…." And it got me thinking about it, so I changed a few words here and there to let there be a little mystery before I answer it in chapter five :P

Sorry to be evil, but I promise I won't leave you in suspense forever.

**Update2 (4-10-06): **I've got a couple emails saying there are some issues with my uploaded chapter. I think it's more an issue of the way I updated the chapter and not with the chapter itself. Instead of uploading the new chapter and moving it to chapter "4" and author notes to the bottom I replaced the author notes with chapter 4 and reuploaded the notes to being last. Unfortunately, this may take FFnet an hour or two to get the proper stories loading. It was a mistake on my part and I can only blame my lack of sleep for not doing it correctly. So if you're having that problem I should be fixed by morning. If it's not I will try to do it properly and hopefully it will work right. Sorry, I'll try not to mess it up when I upload the next part of _More Thoughts_.

_Responses_:

**Knock knock**: In truth the fic isn't really about much of the crew except for Mal and River. While I brought up members to give a little more sense of progress and time in the world, and in the third chapter I thought the ending gave it more a little lighthearted comedy the story was more a focus on feelings and thoughts of the two more then anyone else. Because if those two don't even know how they feel about one another, or at least don't know how to express to one another how they do feel, it's unlikely the rest of the crew has much of an idea either. I have decided to add a little more to the fic and explore the crew's feelings though so you should get your wish.

**Samantha**: Thanks, I'm glad you liked the last chapter also. I'm just glad that my randomness didn't hurt the overall feel of the story. As far as me writing more Mal/River well like I said in the updated notes I'll be adding a non-Mal/River thoughts chapter and then I'll go back to them and give them another chapter to let things develop. So check back again hopefully sooner rather then later I'll get it posted. As far as a new entirely new fic, I haven't got anything immediately planed but I really enjoyed writing this so I wouldn't rule out something else and I really do love the Mal / River dynamic even if it doesn't seem to be the most popular on here hehe, dare to be different I guess.

**Gwenfrewi**: Well Happy Birthday first! I'll have to hold off on my free gift for telling you exactly how it took place because I'm going to be evil and leave you in suspense a little longer while I write a little more. Promise though when the next two chapters are done there will be no doubt how it got on his lips

**Donna Lynn**: Thanks for reviewing all chapters! It's nice to see your feelings on the story as things progress. I also like a more mature River, while I think part of her charm is some of the innocent things she doesn't necessarily think about, I also think that she has been through to much to be childlike all the time. And also I know we all love the surefire almost cocky Mal I like to make him a little unsure of things and force him to look more into himself. Anywho, like I said I'll be adding more and I'll give a for sure answer on how the lipsticks got there but for now I'm going to be a tease and leave the question there for now.


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